Coal Towers - Coaling Stations
for Railroad/Railway

Steam Locomotives Circa
1908 - 1915

Chicago
And Northwestern Railway
Council Bluffs Iowa Station

The list
below is of images and coal tower
pages, with photos, diagrams, and text that was contained in bulletins,
from Roberts and
Schaefer Co. of Chicago.
The towers were engineered and constructed circa 1908 -1912, and the
photographs
were taken during construction or shortly thereafter.

There are
fewer and fewer surviving railroad
"Steam Locomotive Era" structures remaining today, as they are
regularly
being demolished. Very few of the wooden coal towers have survived,
since
they were relatively easy to raze and dismantle. Today the concrete
structures
are being removed as they are deemed to be hazardous, unsafe or the
site
they are on is developed for other uses.

POCKET
COMPANION FOR LOCOMOTIVE
ENGINEERS AND FIREMENCONTAINING MANAGEMENT OF AN
ENGINE UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES BY CHARLES A. HOXSIE
-- PRACTICAL ENGINEER1876

Currently
(July 2004) I have begun adding jpg
images of railroad coal towers and will be adding the text of the
bulletins
as time allows. I would also be interested in adding other old railroad
structures. If you have images and information you would like added to
the site, please email me in regard to permissions necessary etc. If
you
have a related site let me know if you would like me to add a link to
your
site or a site that you feel is a good one regarding the subject of
railroad
structures and history.

All
content is copyrighted, but it
is fine to download images etc. for personal use and nonprofit
organizations. For information
used on a web site, I would
like, that the following be added ("Permission Granted to use" Plus
URL:
http://home.earthlink.net/~railroad_towers_railroadmania/)

If something
is to be used commercially, a
minimal $5.00 per item fee is required. Please use the donations button
below when using PayPal, or address at the bottom of the page, if
mailing.

I am always
interested in quantities of vintage
paper - ephemera, on many subjects. If you have any you would possibly
like to sell, please email me with a brief description.

Coaling
stations/towers were designed
to fuel steam locomotives. They came in all sizes and
shapes.
Some were behemoth structures, while others consisted of a pile of
coal,
and a power shovel along a sidetrack. In the 19th and early 20th
century,
coaling stations were an integral part of every railroad. There were
numerous
coal stations; most towns with locally based locomotives had some type
of coal facility. There were also coaling stations located at
intervals
along routes, so that locomotives of through trains could fill up
quickly,
and maintain their schedules. Some were combined with water and sand
holding
structures. The introduction of diesel locomotives, led to the
replacement
or abandonment of these structures, and the use of smaller
overhead
tanks holding diesel fuel.

"We
are always in advance of other engineers
when it comes to improvements in the handling of coal... We claim the
credit
of promoting and bringing to its high point of efficiency, the Holmen
or
Balanced Bucket Type of Locomotive Coaling Station..."